Dr. Steve Duranceau
University of Central Florida, Environmental Engineering
Host: Dr. Cherie Yestrebsky
Title:
“The Importance of Chemistry in Drinking Water Engineering Research"
Abstract:
Water is one of the most versatile of all chemicals and is necessary for existence via consumption. The United States enjoys one of the world's most reliable and safest supplies of drinking water as Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) in 1974 to protect public health by regulating public water systems; this law has been strengthened and expanded over the years. Today over 151,000 public water systems provide potable water to most Americans. At UCF, the unit treatment processes and required operations for safe drinking water production are a dynamic research area within the Environmental Engineering program. Dr. Duranceau’s research group studies many chemistry-related topics regarding drinking water quality and treatment engineering applications. A few examples include the study of groundwater aeration and sulfide chemistries, surface water coagulation and filtration, desalination process chemistry, disinfectant and disinfection by-product chemistry, and corrosion control. This presentation will illustrate the importance of chemistry in engineering research performed at UCF, and include an overview of several past and present funded projects to illustrate the connection between water chemistry and environmental engineering.
Biographical Sketch:
Dr. Steven J. Duranceau is a Professor of Environmental Engineering and Director of the Environmental Systems Engineering Institute at UCF. He is an internationally recognized authority in the engineering and application of membrane desalination processes for producing drinking water. Dr. Steve has supervised a number of Doctoral and Masters students that have conducted water system research in Florida, Georgia, California, and the Cayman, Hawaiian and Marianas Islands. He currently serves on the editorial advisory boards of the Journal of the American Water Works Association and the Journal of Desalination and Water Treatment. He is a licensed professional engineer in Florida.
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